Australian prime minister Tony Abbott confirms that a navy ship is on its way to recover the two new objects detected by a search plane. One object was circular and grey or green, and the other rectangular and orange. At a daily press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the objects could be picked up in the southern Indian Ocean in a few hours

Summary

Here’s a summary of the major events in Malaysia following the prime minister’s announcement that flight MH370 is assumed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean.

•Relatives of flight MH370 Chinese passengers issued a scathing statement attacking the Malaysian government. The statement said the airline, government and military has “continually and extremely delayed, hidden and covered the facts, and attempted to deceive the passengers’ relatives, and people all over the world.”

•UK satellite firm Inmarsat is credited with helping to confirm the plane’s location using new techniques. "Normally you'd want to triangulate, often you'd have GPS,” Chris McLaughlin, an Inmarsat vice president, told Sky News. “But because aircraft in that region are not mandated to send out signals of their location we were working from blind, so this is very much a unique approach - the first time it's been done."

•Investigators are looking for debris belonging to MH370. If found, search planes will guide ships to the area so that they can salvage the wreckage and search the ocean floor – which in the south Indian ocean can be about 4,000 metres deep. A useful question and answer guide to the next steps, here.

•China said it is sending more vessels to the area to search and salvage the wreckage. The US Navy has sent a black box locator to aid recovery efforts and is using an elite P8 Poseidon aircraft. Japan has sent two P3 Orion planes, New Zealand one, and Australia is overseeing the search for debris in the southerly search sector.

8.32pm GMT

The Guardian's US National Security editor Spencer Ackerman has more information on the US military's recovery efforts.

The senior US military officer for the Pacific region has ordered some undersea robotic aid to potentially help find wreckage from MH370, the Pentagon said Monday.

That would be a Bluefin-21 underwater robot, a high autonomous submarine vehicle, currently en route to Perth, Australia. The Bluefin, announced Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby on Monday, is capable of hunting for debris from the wreckage of the lost airplane – which has yet to be found.

"We don't have a debris field that we can go look for, specifically. We don't have anything to indicate where the aircraft is, or even that it is down at the bottom of the ocean," Kirby told reporters. "Admiral [Sam] Locklear made a very prudent and wise decision to move the equipment that could be useful should a debris field be found, or should we think we can get close to where the black box may be."

The Bluefin is part of an early generation of robotic submarines that are, loosely speaking, the underwater equipment of the now-iconic drone airplanes. (The robot subs are vastly more autonomous than drone aircraft are.) Durable and cheap, the particular model headed to Perth carries a sonar array and can dive to a maximum depth of 14,700 feet, with a 25-hour endurance limit at three knots -- potentially hunting submerged clues as to the fate of MH370.

"It's only going to be valuable if you know you have something down there that you think is worth going and taking a look at," Kirby said.

The Bluefin is a separate piece of equipment from the black box locator that the Navy is also sending to Australia.

8.19pm GMT

Photos

Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard MH370 shout in protest as another reads out a statement calling for Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia's government to be held accountable. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP

Grieving Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 react after being told of their deaths at the Lido hotel in Beijing. Photograph: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Journalists wait in front of the guarded entrance of the hotel where Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 stay. Photograph: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Using the data from just eight satellite "pings" after the plane's other onboard ACARS automatic tracking system went off at 1.07am, the team at Inmarsat was initially able to calculate that it had either headed north towards the Asian land mass or south, towards the emptiest stretches of the India Ocean. Inmarsat said that yesterday it had done new calculations on the limited data which it received from the plane in order to come to its conclusion. McLaughlin told CNN that it was a "groundbreaking but traditional" piece of mathematics which was then checked by others in the space industry.

The company's system of satellites provide voice contact with air traffic control when planes are out of range of radar which only covers about 10% of the Earth's surface and beyond the reach of standard radio over oceans. It also offers automatic reporting of positions via the plane's transponders. It is possible to send route instructions directly to the cockpit over a form of text message relayed through the satellite.

7.29pm GMT

Now that MH370 is assumed to have crashed into the ocean, The Guardian’s Jon Swaine and Alan Yuhas have put together a question and answer guide:

What happens next in the search?

At the request of the Malaysian government, Australia has been overseeing the search for debris in the southerly search sector, from a military base near Perth. It has deployed four military planes, four civilian jets and two navy vessels. China has dispatched seven ships, including three warships and an ice-breaker, along with two military aircraft. Japan has sent two P3 Orion planes, New Zealand one, and the US is using an elite P8 Poseidon navy aircraft.

Families' statement

Distraught relatives of Chinese passengers attacked Malaysia for announcing the crash and loss of life without direct proof and for wasting the best chance to rescue those on board.

In a statement, they said the airline, Malaysian government and its military had “continually and extremely delayed, hidden and covered the facts, and attempted to deceive the passengers' relatives, and people all over the world”.

That had not only devastated relatives but “misled, delayed the research and rescue, wasted a lot of man power, and material resources and we lost the most valuable rescue opportunity. If our 154 relatives lost their lives because of it, Malaysia Airlines, the Malaysian government, and the Malaysian military are [their] killers.”

Representatives of the relatives of the passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 announce a statement after being told the news that the plane plunged into the Indian Ocean. Photograph: GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 7.19pm GMT

7.00pm GMT

The US Navy said on Monday that it was moving a black box locator to the region in case a debris area was located.

The TPL-25 Towed Pinger Locator System is able to locate black boxes on downed Navy and commercial aircraft down to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet anywhere in the world. Commercial aircraft pingers are mounted directly on the flight recorder, the recovery of which is critical to an accident investigation.

The Pinger Locator is towed behind a vessel at slow speeds, generally 1-5 knots, depending on the depth. The tow array carries a passive listening device for detecting pingers that automatically transmit an acoustic pulse.

China’s official news agency, Xinhau, said the country is sending more vessels to salvage the MH370 wreckage:

China will send more vessels to the waters of the southern Indian Ocean to search and salvage wreckage of Malaysia Airline MH370, Chinese maritime authorities said late Monday night.

China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said it is working on solutions overnight, promising to beef up search efforts after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the missing plane ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

6.37pm GMT

The Daily Telegraph’s Beijing correspondent Malcolm Moore has said that the families of MH370 passengers assembled in Beijing have made a statement.

malcolmmoore (@MalcolmMoore)

The relatives in Beijing have made a statement, blaming MAS, Malaysian govn't for the deaths of the passengers on MH370

"We applied the autopilot speeds - about 350 knots. We applied what we knew about the fuel and range of the aircraft to hit the series of ping information we had.

"Normally you'd want to triangulate, often you'd have GPS. But because aircraft in that region are not mandated to send out signals of their location we were working from blind, so this is very much a unique approach - the first time it's been done."

Mr McLoughlin believes all commercial planes should now be fitted with existing technology provided by Inmarsat and other satellite companies that would prevent prolonged searches like this unfolding in future.

Inmarsat expressed its condolences to the family in a statement. “This is first and foremost a tragedy for the passengers and their families and we extend our deepest sympathies to them all at this time,” said McLaughin.

In Beijing, relatives shrieked and sobbed uncontrollably and men and women held up their loved ones when they heard the news. Their grief came pouring out after days of waiting for definitive word on the fate of their relatives aboard the missing plane.

The family members in Beijing had been called to a hotel near the airport to hear the announcement. Afterward, they filed out of a conference room in heart-wrenching grief.

One woman collapsed and fell on her knees, crying "My son! My son!"

Medical teams arrived with several stretchers and at least one elderly man was carried out of the conference room on one of them, his faced covered by a jacket. Minutes later a middle-aged woman was taken out on another, her face ashen and her eyes blank and expressionless.

Nan Jinyan, whose brother-in-law Yan Ling was aboard the flight, said she was prepared for the worst. "This is a blow to us, and it is beyond description," Nan said.

In Kuala Lumpur, Selamat Omar, the father of a 29-year-old aviation engineer who was on the flight, said some family members there broke down in tears at the news.

"We accept the news of the tragedy. It is fate," Selamat told The Associated Press.

Relatives of passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 embrace each other after learning of news from Kuala Lumpur, at a hotel in Beijing, China. Photograph: ROLEX DELA PENA/EPA

Updated at 5.56pm GMT

5.45pm GMT

Summary

Here’s a summary of the major events so far:

•Malaysia's prime minister announced late Monday in Malaysia that new satellite data showed that flight MH370 crashed into the Indian Ocean. Najib Razak said: "It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that... flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean." Razak said more updates would be provided at a press conference on Tuesday.

•Malaysia Airlines confirmed that it assumed the plane “ended” in the southern Indian Ocean. "The ongoing multinational search operation will continue, as we seek answers to the questions which remain," it said in a statement. “Alongside the search for MH370, there is an intensive investigation, which we hope will also provide answers.”

•Malaysia Airlines sent text messages to relatives to give them the grim update. “As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s prime minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean,” the message said. The airline said that it contacted the majority of families in person and by phone about the news.

•Relatives of the missing passengers were briefed about the new information just before the public announcement. Paramedics were on hand to care for grieving relatives at Beijing’s Lido hotel. Official Chinese news agency, Xinhau confirmed at least one relative was carried out of the hotel on a stretcher.

malcolmmoore (@MalcolmMoore)

Most of the relatives are still inside the conference room in Beijing. Where else do they have to go? MH370

The maker of flight MH370's aircraft, the Boeing 777, has also released a statement about the latest official update.

Boeing is saddened by today's announcement by the prime minister of Malaysia regarding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies continue to be with the families and loved ones of those aboard. Boeing continues to serve as a technical advisor to the U.S. National Transportation Board.

Malaysia Airlinesreleased a statement to further clarify how it communicated the latest developments about MH370 to relatives of passengers on the flight.

It is with deep sadness that Malaysia Airlines earlier this evening had to confirm to the families of those on board Flight MH370 that it must now be assumed the flight had been lost. As the Prime Minister said, respect for the families is essential at this difficult time. And it is in that spirit that we informed the majority of the families in advance of the Prime Minister’s statement in person and by telephone. SMSs were used only as an additional means of communicating with the families. Those families have been at the heart of every action the company has taken since the flight disappeared on 8th March and they will continue to be so. When Malaysia Airlines receives approval from the investigating authorities, arrangements will be made to bring the families to the recovery area and until that time, we will continue to support the ongoing investigation.

4.49pm GMT

Inmarsat, the British firm that provided some of the satellite data responsible for the new analysis of flight MH370’s path, told the New York Times it has reviewed data it had about the flight for the past six days in consultation with Boeing and other groups involved in the investigation

Earlier analysis of the seven signals received on March 8 by one of its satellites over the Indian Ocean told investigators that the plane had probably wound up somewhere along of two broad arcs, one stretching south into the ocean and the other stretching north from Laos through southwestern China into Central Asia. But the new analysis announced on Monday allowed investigators to rule out the northern arc.

“Our measured series of signals very much mirror the predicted southern track after the last possible turn,” said Chris McLaughlin, a vice president at Inmarsat, adding that they were consistent with previous indications that the plane continued on at a more or less constant speed and direction for the last hours of the flight.

He said that Inmarsat was confident enough in the new analysis, which it reviewed with Boeing and with a number of independent aviation experts, that the company submitted its findings on Sunday to the Malaysians by way of the British safety agency, the Air Accidents Investigations Bureau.

4.49pm GMT

Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak speaks during a press conference where he announced that the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 "ended" in the Indian Ocean. Photograph: Chong Voon Chung/REX

During their week's work alongside their American and British counterparts, they were able to share with Malaysian authorities their experience in the organisation of undersea searches, acquired during the search between 2009 and 2011 for the wreckage of Rio-Paris flight AF447. They were thus able to advise their interlocutors on the means to be put in place if undersea searches need to be launched in order to find the Boeing 777.

It should be noted that the information available today has led to surface sea searches being carried out in order to identify debris observed in the southern Indian Ocean. Such a vast area does not, at present, make it feasible to conduct undersea searches. An undersea phase to localise the aeroplane from flight MH 370 could only be launched if the operations under way today enable a more limited search area to be defined than the current search areas.

The BEA reminds you that only the Malaysian authorities may communicate information on the progress of the investigation.

4.12pm GMT

Daniel Liau, a Malaysian gallery owner who helped organize the exhibition in Kuala Lumpur that a group of Chinese artists on the flight participated in, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the prime minister’s announcement.

“I hope that it’s not 100% confirmed,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “Even though it’s 99%” certain, “we still have a 1% chance,” he said, noting that we would await further details expected at a news conference Tuesday. Mr Liau said he has been following the news closely since the jetliner disappeared on March 8, and is feeling exhausted.

Asked if he had spoken with any family members of the artists in China since the prime minister’s statement, he said “now is not the time to talk” with them. He noted, however, that he had sent several family members text messages saying he was still holding out hope.

“I can’t concentrate,” he said. “Tonight I don’t think I will sleep well. It’s very hard to accept. We still have to pray.”

4.02pm GMT

Reporters in Beijing are sharing reactions from family members of passengers on board flight MH370. Many relatives are still inside the Lido hotel conference room where they learned about the plane’s fate.

Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisctv)

Disbelief among #China families of #MH370 passengers. Woman screamed, "how can they lose contact at 2am and still see the flight at 8am?"

Sky News Asia correspondent Mark Stone posted a response from Malaysia Airlines about its decision to text message relatives that the plane is assumed to have disappeared. The airline clarified that is also contacted families face to face about the news.

Here’s our video of the prime minister of Malaysia’s late night press conference. Najib Razak said: "It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that... flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

3.30pm GMT

AFP graphics editor, John Saeki, shared an image showing what is known about the passengers on board MH370, based on the news agency’s reporting. The graphic includes the nationalities of the passengers and quotes from family members and Interpol.

A relative of a Chinese passenger aboard the Malaysia Airlines MH370, covers his face after being told that the plane plunged into the Indian Ocean. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP

Updated at 3.52pm GMT

3.00pm GMT

Malaysia Airlines says the search for the remains of the missing plane will continue, but in a new statement it confirmed that it is now assumed to have come down in the southern Indian Ocean.

Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s Prime Minister, new analysis of satellite data suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.

On behalf of all of us at Malaysia Airlines and all Malaysians, our prayers go out to all the loved ones of the 226 passengers and of our 13 friends and colleagues at this enormously painful time.

We know there are no words that we or anyone else can say which can ease your pain. We will continue to provide assistance and support to you, as we have done since MH370 first disappeared in the early hours of 8 March, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The ongoing multinational search operation will continue, as we seek answers to the questions which remain. Alongside the search for MH370, there is an intensive investigation, which we hope will also provide answers.

We would like to assure you that Malaysia Airlines will continue to give you our full support throughout the difficult weeks and months ahead.

Once again, we humbly offer our sincere thoughts, prayers and condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy.

2.55pm GMT

Malaysia Airlines informed the world of the assumed fate of the 239 people on board MH370 by text message.

Summary

Here's a summary of the latest grim updates from Malaysia:

•Malaysia's prime minister has announced that new satellite data showed that flight MH370 crashed into the Indian Ocean. In a brief statement Najib Razak said: "It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that... flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

•Malaysia Airlines announced that it was "beyond reasonable" doubt that the plane was lost with no survivors. "We must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean," it said in a statement.

•The new certainty about the plane's fate was confirmed in analysis by British aerospace experts based on satellite data. They found that the plane's last position was in a remote location in the middle of the Indian Ocean far from any landing strips.

•Families of the missing passengers were briefed about the new analysis minutes before the world's media. Police and paramedics were on hand to help grieving relatives at a hotel in Beijing.

•Australia's prime minister Tony Abbott has confirmed that the Australian ship HMAS Success is trying to recover two new objects spotted by a search plane. In a statement to Parliament he cautioned that the objects may turn out to be unrelated to the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.

Updated at 2.40pm GMT

2.19pm GMT

Full text of Najib Razak's statement

This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). They informed me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path.

Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

We will be holding a press conference tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation.

Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time.

Updated at 2.31pm GMT

2.12pm GMT

There are grim reports on the scene in a Beijing hotel where relatives of the missing have been gathering for updates.

They concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last location was in the South Indian Ocean, Najib Razak said.

1.52pm GMT

'Lost beyond any reasonable doubt'

Malaysia Airlines has announced that the missing Boeing is assumed to have crashed with no survivors.

In a statement it said:

We deeply regret that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board have survived..we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.

MH370's co-pilot was on his first Boeing 777 flight without a minder, Malaysia Airlines revealed at today's briefing.

AFP reports:

Co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid has come under intense scrutiny, along with Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, after Malaysian authorities said flight MH370's disappearance was due to "deliberate" action in the cockpit.

However, nothing has yet emerged publicly to implicate the two men.

The flag carrier said Fariq, 27, had come through his initial outings in the 777 model with no issues under a standard arrangement in which a First Officer's first five flights in a new model of plane are done under the watchful eye of a "check co-pilot".

"The first five flights, the co-pilot normally flies with what we call the check co-pilot. He actually passed the first five flights. We do not see any problem with him," the airlines' chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya told a daily press conference on the crisis.

Ahmad Jauhari added that Zaharie, 53, was himself an experienced 777 examiner.

"You must realise that he (Fariq) is flying with an examiner. The captain is a 777 examiner," he added, referring to Zaharie.

The flight has been successful in terms of what we were looking for today. We were looking for debris in the water and we sighted a number of objects on the surface and beneath the surface visually as we flew over the top if it.

The first object was rectangular in shape and slightly below the ocean. The second object was circular, also slightly below the ocean. We came across a long cylindrical object that was possibly two meters long, 20 cm across.

Vice Admiral Datuk Kamarul, the deputy head of Malaysia's navy, tweets a chart showing the relative positions of ships in and around the search area, including HMAS Success and the Chinese ice breaker Snow Dragon.

VADM Kamarul (@mykamarul)

Chinese Icebreaker Xue Long still making her way whilst HMAS Success is in location to recover possible debris pic.twitter.com/OnPhgCtKMA

But this may just be an attempt to underline that the latest discovery has no confirmed connection with MH370.

HMAS Success sweeps through the search area in the southern Indian Ocean during the Australian Maritime Safety Authority-led search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Photograph: Xinhua/REX

Updated at 11.02am GMT

10.42am GMT

Australia's prime minister has confirmed that the ship HMAS Success is trying to recover the two new objects spotted by a search plane.

In a statement to parliament, Tony Abbott cautioned that the objects may turn out to be unrelated to the missing Malaysian Airlines plane. He said:

The objects were spotted in the search area about 2500 kilometres southwest of Perth at about 2.45pm our time.

The crew on board the Orion reported seeing two objects, the first a grey or green circular object and the second an orange rectangular object. These are separate to the objects reported earlier today by a Chinese search aircraft.

I can advise the House that US Navy Poseidon, a second Royal Australian Air Force Orion and a Japanese Orion are also on route to or in the search area. Planes and ships continue to search the area for any sign of the missing aircraft.

I caution again, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, that we don’t know whether any of these objects are from MH370. They could be flotsam. Nevertheless we are hopeful that we can recover these objects soon and that they will take us a step closer to resolving this tragic mystery.

This is an extraordinary mystery. An absolutely baffling mystery. But as I’ve said before, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, let me reiterate to this House we owe it to the families of those on board, we owe it to the loved ones on board, we owe it to all the people who are concerned about the fate of this aircraft to do whatever we reasonably can to find anything that is out there, to test it and to see what we can learn about what so far is one of the great mysteries of our time.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has advised that objects have been located by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion and I can advise the House that HMAS Success is on scene and is attempting to locate and recover these objects.

Able Seaman Kurt Jackson keeps watch on the forecastle of the Australian Navy ship, the HMAS Success, in a search area for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. Photograph: Handout/reuters

Updated at 2.40pm GMT

10.36am GMT

Summary

Here's a summary of the main developments so far today:

An Australian ship is trying to retrieve two objects spotted by search aircraft in the Southern Indian Ocean. HMAS Success, the only ship in the area, could retrieve the objects in the next few hours, or by tomorrow at the latest.

The objects, one grey/green and circular, the other orange and rectangle, are separate from white rectangular objects detected by a Chinese search plane. Australia's prime minister Tony Abbot telephoned his Malaysian counterpart to report the discovery. It is not yet confirmed whether the objects were connected to MH370.

A US search plane has failed to detect the objects sighted by a Chinese plane. They were located by China in an area outside the vicinity of objects detected by Australia last week from satellite images. China said the objects were "suspicious" and may not be related to MH370.

Search aircraft also detected two orange objects and a white coloured drum in the area. They remain unidentified and not necessarily linked to MH370. Malaysia has confirmed that the plane's cargo included fruits, 200kg of lithium batteries considered as non-hazardous, and wooden pallets.

France has sent Malaysia more images of objects its satellite's detected last Friday. The images of the objects, which were detected north of the current search area, have been sent to Australia which is leading the search in the Indian Ocean.

Malaysian police have interviewed more than 100 people in the investigation into the missing plane. They include family members of the pilot and the co-pilot. The Malaysian authorities are considering releasing a transcript of the communication with the missing flight.

Introductory statement

The search for MH370 continues. Over the past few days, new leads from satellite data have focused our search and rescue operations in the southern corridor. Our partners continue to deploy assets to assist us, as we work to narrow the search areas.

Operational update

Yesterday, 18,500 square nautical miles were searched in the Australian search area.

Two orange objects approximately one metre in length and one white coloured drum were sighted by search aircraft, but remain unidentified and have not been conclusively linked to MH370.

HMAS Success detected two radar targets within the search area, but could not locate the targets on further investigation of the area.

Earlier today, a Chinese search plane reportedly sighted objects in the Australian search area. These objects are not in the vicinity of those which were identified by the Australian authorities last week.

A few minutes ago the Prime Minister received a call from the Prime Minister of Australia, who informed him that an Australian search aircraft had located two objects in the Australian search area, one circular and one rectangular.

HMAS Success is in the vicinity and it is possible that the objects could be received within the next few hours, or by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Three search areas, totalling approximately 20,000 square nautical miles, have been identified for operations today. RCC Australia anticipates that 10 aircraft will be used.

HMAS Success remains the only vessel in the search area. A number of Chinese vessels are expected to commence arriving within the search area on 25th March.

3 aircraft - 2 from Japan and 1 from the UAE – have already departed from Subang today and are en route to the southern corridor.

6 Malaysian ships, with 3 ship-borne helicopters, are now in northern part of the southern corridor. 10 Chinese ships are in the southern corridor, carrying out search and rescue operations. HMS Echo is currently refuelling in the Maldives and will be sailing to the southern corridor this evening.

In the northern corridor, Turkmenistan have confirmed they have not had any sightings of MH370 on their radar. Each piece of information we receive from our partners in the northern corridor helps us to continuously narrow the corridor.

Satellite images

New leads into MH370’s possible location have come from satellite data. This was one of the four tools we identified that could narrow the search area, along with surveillance radar data, increasing surface and air assets, and bringing in more technical experts.

The most recent images were obtained by French satellites, which captured radar images of potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor on 21st March. These images were received by Malaysia on the evening of the 22nd March, and were relayed to RCC Australia on the morning of the 23rd March, as they are leading the search in that particular area of the southern corridor.

This morning we have received a further set of images from French satellites, this time captured by cameras. These images were taken yesterday and have been relayed to RCC Australia.

Family briefings

Yesterday, the high-level team met with families in Beijing for more than eight hours.

The families asked many questions, and made detailed requests for radar readings and other data. Some of these questions could not be answered, and some of the data they requested was still being held by the investigation, as is standard procedure in investigations of this sort.

After meeting with the families for a total of more than twelve hours, and taking hundreds of questions, the high-level team has returned to Kuala Lumpur to discuss the matters raised at the meetings. They will return to Beijing tomorrow to continue.

The briefings in Kuala Lumpur over the last two days went smoothly, and the families responded as positively as could be expected, with the families engaging with representatives from the relevant authorities.

It has always been our intention to keep the families as fully informed as possible. We continue to do so.

Specific questions

There are a few specific questions I would like to respond to.

On the police investigation, we can confirm that the police have interviewed more than a hundred people, including families of both the pilot and co-pilot.

As far as the transcript is concerned, the technical committee is considering releasing it and we will keep you informed about the decision.

The Inspector General of the Police will attend tomorrow’s press conference to answer further questions on the investigation.

We can also confirm that MH370 was carrying wooden pallets. However, there is as yet no evidence that these are related to the wooden pallets reportedly sighted in the Australian search area.

Concluding remarks

The search for MH370 has taken us halfway around the world. At the moment there are new leads, but nothing conclusive. Our thoughts continue to be with the families who are still waiting for news. In the meantime, we are grateful for the on-going co-operation shown by our partners in this multinational search.

Updated at 10.55am GMT

9.59am GMT

Malaysia's daily press briefing has come to an end. New leads were announced about possible debris in the South Indian Ocean, but once again none of the sightings have been confirmed as linked to MH370.

9.51am GMT

The office of Malaysia's prime minister has confirmed that telephone update from Australia.

HMAS Success is on scene and is attempting to locate the objects in the search for missing Malaysia Aircraft flight MH370.

The objects were spotted in the search area about 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth by the RAAF Orion about 2.45pm (AEDT).

The crew on board the Orion reported seeing two objects – the first a grey or green circular object and the second an orange rectangular object.

The objects identified by the RAAF Orion are separate to the objects reported by the Chinese Ilyushin IL- 76 to AMSA earlier today.

The objects reported by the Chinese were also within today’s search area.

The US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft sought to relocate the objects reported by the Chinese aircraft but were unable to do so.

The US Navy P8 is remains in the search area, while a second RAAF P3 and a Japanese P3 are en route to their assigned search areas.

9.42am GMT

Hishammuddin said Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak had been contacted by his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, on the discovery of those two further objects in the Indian Ocean.

Updated at 10.59am GMT

9.36am GMT

More than 100 people, including the families of the pilot and co-pilot of MH370, have been interviewed by the police, according to Hishammuddin.

9.33am GMT

The Malaysian authorities are giving another daily media briefing on the search operation. Acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Australia has sighted two objects - one circular and one rectangular - in the search area.

A ship maybe able to retrieve the objects by Tuesday.

9.30am GMT

Web developer Cameron Beccario, has produced an animated visualisation of the fierce winds and currents in the Southern Indian Ocean as part of his weather mapping project earth.nullschool.net.

The updating graphic shows weather patterns using data every three hours from the Global Forecast System.

9.15am GMT

China has redirected a commercial icebreaker the Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, to change its course to the area where one of its planes spotted those suspicious objects.

China Xinhua News (@XHNews)

Chinese icebreaker Xuelong changes course towards an area where Chinese aircraft in search of MH370 spots some suspicious objects

﻿In a further sign the search may be bearing fruit, the US Navy is flying in its high-tech Black Box detector to the area.

The so-called black boxes - the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder - record what happens on board planes in flight. At crash sites, finding the black boxes soon is crucial because the locator beacons they carry fade out after 30 days.

"If debris is found we will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited," Commander Chris Budde, U.S. Seventh Fleet Operations Officer, said in an emailed statement.

Budde stressed that bringing in the black box detector, which is towed behind a vessel at slow speeds and can pick up "pings" from a black box to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet, was a precautionary measure.

Australia was also analysing French radar images showing potential floating debris that were taken some 850 km (530 miles) north of the current search area.

Australia has used a U.S. satellite image of two floating objects to frame its search area. A Chinese satellite has also spotted an object floating in the ocean there, estimated at 22 metres long (74ft) and 13 metres (43ft) wide.

It could not be determined easily from the blurred images whether the objects were the same as those detected by the Australian and Chinese search planes, but the Chinese photograph could depict a cluster of smaller objects, said a senior military officer from one of the 26 nations involved in the search.

The wing of a Boeing 777-200ER is approximately 27 metres long and 14 metres wide at its base, according to estimates derived from publicly available scale drawings. Its fuselage is 63.7 metres long by 6.2 metres wide.

The search operation is being hampered by mistrust between countries and China's lack of experience in military cooperation with its neighbours, according to a leading analyst.

Jessica Trisko Darden, assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Western Ontario who studies how countries cooperate and conflict in Asia, told the BBC's World this Weekend programme that the search operation has exposed an inability of countries to effectively work together.

Initially there wasn’t much interaction [between countries] when the plane first disappeared. But we have seen growing conflict between China and Malaysia and eventually we have reached this current point where China is bypassing Malaysia. It is largely spearheading its own search in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Trisko Darden said China was sensitive to criticism on social media that it is not doing enough to find the plane. She also said it wanted to project its military muscle at a time of heightened tensions in the region.

She said that to the “best of her knowledge” Australia did not ask for the Chinese help in the search. But the US has also been acting on its own.

China informed them that they were deploying these naval assets, but that’s not very different from the United States, which unilaterally decided open up a search in the Indian Ocean after it believed that the intelligence being provided by Malaysia, which was directing a search northerly and towards the Gulf of Thailand was not accurate.

China really stands outside existing networks of cooperation. In reality China only regularly holds joint military exercises with India. It has agreed to strengthen naval cooperation with Malaysia but this hasn’t really happened in practice yet.

8.16am GMT

A US P8 Poseidon search plane has failed to locate the potential debris spotted by the Chinese, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

A US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft prepares to take off from a runway at Perth International Airport, en route to the Indian Ocean last week. Photograph: JASON REED/Reuters

7.59am GMT

China has cautioned that the objects spotted by one of its planes are not confirmed to be connected with MH370.

China's foreign inistry spokesman Hong Lei made the comments at his daily briefing. Hong also said Chinese ships are expected to start arriving on Tuesday in the search area of the southern Indian Ocean, according to Reuters.

The location of the "suspicious" objects spotted by a Chinese plane fall within an area currently being searched by Australian aircraft. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said its teams were trying to relocate the objects spotted by the Chinese.

AMSA News (@AMSA_News)

AMSA advised about reported objects sighted by Chinese aircraft.Reported objects in today’s search area. Attempts will be made to relocate.

A map from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority shows the planned search area for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. French authorities reported a satellite sighting of objects in the southern Indian Ocean where China and Australia have also reported sighting potential debris from missing flight MH370. Ten aircraft from Australia, China, the United States, New Zealand and Japan will engage in the search today, approximately 2500km south-west of Perth. Photograph: Handout/Getty Images

Earlier Amsa said its search would not be hit by a tropical cyclone south of Indonesia.

AMSA News (@AMSA_News)

AMSA's #MH370 search area will not be affected by Tropical Cyclone Gillian. The search area is in the southern Indian Ocean.